Calls to defund police grow
Professor says idea is to shrink portions of department over time
Calls to defund the police now echo inside Denver City Council chambers as several members say they support changing the makeup of the city’s police department and the responsibilities it’s assigned.
“Defund the police” is a common refrain at protests in Denver — and across the country — sparked by the death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer. Certainly the recent and forceful actions of Denver officers have come under question after they fired chemical irritants and other projectiles at peaceful protesters, journalists and others.
But the notion under serious consideration in Denver is more nuanced than the name suggests. It would shift some duties away from the city’s police officers to specialists, shrinking parts of the department.
While other city officials are less certain or enthusiastic about the movement, they still express an open mind toward systemic change within the Denver Police Department.
Cementing those changes would be a drawn out and painful process, said Aya Gruber, a criminal law professor at the University of Colorado Boulder. But it’s a necessary conversation meant to make Denver a safer and more equitable city.
“At best forceful policing is a mixed bag of success at actually reducing crime,” Gruber said. “We are not even sure after all these years that it works, but we are 100% sure that it has all these
horrible collateral costs and yet we keep doing it.”
What does it mean to defund the police?
There are calls for the complete elimination of police officers across the country, but that’s not the tone of the conversation with council members in Denver.
“The idea of defunding police is not abolishing any sort of security services, services to people in need or enforcing laws for the public good,” Gruber said.
Rather, the idea is to shrink portions of the department over time, shifting cash to other methods of keeping the city safe, Gruber said.
Current practices such as street policing can lead to stop-and-frisk interactions offering more opportunities for potentially deadly police interactions, Gruber said.
They can also erode public trust in police while making little headway in actually reducing crime.
And dispatching officers to a mental health crisis or instances of domestic violence is often less effective and more dangerous than sending a mental health professional or a different type of specialist, Gruber said.
“Do we want a SWAT team with guns? Or do want professionals who are trained in relationship violence who are connected with the various agencies that serve women who experience abuse?” Gruber said.
The problem is that when police are trained to see people as potential threats, they’ll view each circumstance through that lens, which can lead to biased and excessive policing and more, Gruber said.
Who supports the move?
Whatever the movement is called, Councilman Chris Hinds wrote on Twitter that if it shifts from punishing people to supporting them, then he’s behind the idea.
“Defund the police,” he tweeted.
Others on council have also voiced support for the movement.
“I’m 100% committed to imagining a future without police and working toward that future,” said Councilwoman Robin Kniech.
But a change in policing is only part of the solution, Kniech said. She looks toward zoning practices and community engagement as well.
Councilwoman Jamie Torres agreed, saying she’s received about 3,000 emails calling for changes.
But the next steps must be well researched and thoughtful, Torres said. She expressed concerns of replacing white police officers with white social workers who could still perpetuate the biases plaguing local neighborhoods.
Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen fell short of supporting the defund the police movement, but said he is willing to discuss new ideas and the men and women in the department are as well.
“We are open to taking a public health view of public safety. We’re open to improving what policing is going to look like in the future,” Pazen said. “We’re open to alternative responses in areas where it might not make the most sense for a police officer to respond.”
While officers provide an “invaluable” service to the city, they must also be held accountable if they break the rules, Mayor Michael Hancock said in a statement. And public safety amounts to more than just officers on the streets.
“I understand people’s frustrations, and there is always room to make improvements and implement big changes if they are necessary,” Hancock said. “But I’m not inclined to oversimplify this into ‘defunding’ the police department.”
Several programs already underway give Denver a decent foundation for change, Kniech said. She pointed to the city’s gang intervention program and Citizen Oversight Board.
Others either pair mental health professionals with officers or dispatch them and unarmed medics instead of police.
If that foundation is to be strengthened and built upon, Kniech said it starts with the 2021 budget. The council can’t change or divert the city’s cash flow midyear.
The council will discuss the city’s budget for next year over the summer, set priorities and share its findings with Hancock’s office, Kniech said. It’s then up to the mayor’s administration to propose a budget in the fall.